6,000 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Purchased by PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,111,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $119,516,000 after purchasing an additional 24,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after purchasing an additional 493,146 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,227 shares of company stock valued at $12,962,573 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $2.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $161.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,532,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,039,281. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $156.05 and a 200-day moving average of $177.35. The stock has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WSM. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $182.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.